George Floyd's family members gathered for a song-and prayer-filled private memorial service in North Carolina on Saturday, after an earlier public viewing of his body drew long lines of mourners from around the country.
Family members and public officials spoke at the service in Raeford, North Carolina, honoring Floyd, whose death last week in Minneapolis police custody has sparked protests around the world against police brutality and racism.
"Some death ain't about dying. Some death is about waking all of us up," said Jeremy Collins, a spokesman for North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. Floyd's death "woke all of us up."
Another speaker, Hoke County Sheriff Hubert Peterkin, urged law enforcement across the country to acknowledge that "we are part of the problem."
"We as law enforcement officers don't have the authority to bully, push people around and kill them because we have on a badge and a gun," he said. "It's got to change. We keep talking, we keep talking, we keep talking until it happens again. ... Enough of talking. Don't let the life of George Floyd be in vain."
